Audio processing for multi-participant communication systems

ABSTRACT

Audio processing is provided to determine whether an audio issue is present within a multi-participant communication system such as a teleconference or videoconference bridge or a trunk dispatch system. Audio issues such as background noise, background conversations, or other unwanted audio that is being interjected into the multi-participant conversation and that may be dominating the audio are detected by measuring characteristics of audio samples taken from the communication ports of the multi-participant communication system. A correction may then be applied to the audio received through the communication port by a processor of the multi-participant communication system without intervention by an administrator, such as by muting the port, applying a noise cancellation to audio from the port, or time-shifting the audio from the port.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate to multi-participant communication systems such asconference bridges and dispatch trunks. More particularly, embodimentsrelate to audio processing occurring within the multi-participantcommunication systems.

BACKGROUND

Multi-participant communication systems allow several participants inwidespread locations to participate within a conversation, meeting, orother setting. For example, a conference bridge such as forteleconferencing or video conferencing allows participants locatedanywhere that phone or data service is available to dial into theteleconference or video conference bridge and participate within thediscussion involving multiple other participants. As another example,dispatch trunks allow widespread groups of individuals, each of whom maybe mobilized, to send and receive communications among the group.

While such multi-participant communication systems provide a veryvaluable service to the participants, there are drawbacks due to themanner in which individuals are permitted to contribute to thediscussion. With the teleconference and video conference bridgeexamples, in some instances several if not all participants may have anopen microphone so that the several participants may interject speechinto the discussion at any time. This open microphone ensures that eachparticipant has the ability to contribute as he or she wishes. However,the teleconference or videoconference bridge may combine the audio beingreceived from all conference ports assigned to the participants suchthat background noise and side conversations from each participantlocation may be included in the audio being provided to allparticipants. These background noises and side conversations may beginto dominate the conference. Furthermore, in some conference bridges,audio for the bridge may be received from only a dominant port at anygiven time, and the port producing the background noise may be selectedas the dominant port, thereby excluding legitimate audio from otherports corresponding to other participants.

This problem has been addressed in a couple of ways. One conventionalway to address this problem is by providing the participant with theoption to mute the microphone at his or her location. Of course, theparticipant must be aware that muting of the microphone is necessary,and it is often the case that the participant who is responsible for thebackground noise or side conversations is unaware that this unwantedaudio is being interjected into the conference from his or her location.Furthermore, the participant must have the initiative to operate themute function. Another conventional way to address this problem is byproviding an administrator of the conference with an interface wherebythe administrator can choose to mute a given port of the conference. Theadministrator either has to guess which port to mute, or in someconference bridges, the interface suggests which port is producing theunwanted audio to the administrator.

The dispatch trunk has similar issues regarding background noise andside conversations. Like some conference bridges, a trunk may limit theaudio to a single highest priority port at any given time, therebyexacerbating the problem if the background noise becomes the highestpriority port. Thus, the background noise or side conversations of oneparticipant may serve to hinder or even altogether exclude otherparticipants from interjecting legitimate speech onto the trunk.Considering that emergency services personnel rely on dispatch trunks toconvey time-critical emergency information, the issue becomes even moresignificant.

SUMMARY

Embodiments address issues such as these and others by providing audioprocessing at the conference bridge or dispatch trunk to decrease thelikelihood that background noise or side conversations interfere ordominate the discussion. For example, background noise or sideconversations may be detectable through signal processing and patternmatching. When such unwanted audio is detected, a correction may beapplied to the audio port responsible for the unwanted audio. Thecorrection may be to mute the audio port altogether, to filter outunwanted audio patterns, such as a particular background noise or sideconversation level, or even to time shift audio from a given port if itwould otherwise overlap with audio from another port.

Embodiments provide a conference bridge that includes a plurality ofconference bridge ports through which audio is delivered to and receivedfrom conference participants. The audio from each conference bridge portis shared with the other conference bridge ports of the plurality. Aprocessor is in communication with the plurality of conference bridgeports and analyzes audio received from each of the plurality ofconference bridge ports to determine which conference bridge ports areproviding audio that includes characteristics meeting at least onecriterion. The processor applies a correction to the audio from each ofthe conference bridge ports that includes the characteristics matchingthe at least one criterion prior to the audio being shared with theother conference bridge ports of the plurality.

Embodiments provide a trunk dispatch system that includes a plurality oftrunk dispatch wireless ports through which audio is delivered to andreceived from trunk dispatch participants. The audio from each trunkdispatch wireless port is prioritized and shared according to prioritywith the other trunk dispatch wireless ports of the plurality. A trunkdispatch processor is in communication with the plurality of trunkdispatch wireless ports and analyzes audio received from each of theplurality of trunk dispatch wireless ports to determine which trunkdispatch wireless ports are providing audio that includescharacteristics meeting at least one criterion. The processor applies acorrection to the audio from each of the trunk dispatch wireless portsthat includes the characteristics matching the at least one criterionprior to the audio being shared with the other trunk dispatch wirelessports of the plurality.

Embodiments provide a computer readable medium that containsinstructions that perform acts that include continually monitoring aplurality of ports of a multi-participant audio system, wherein eachport of the plurality is utilized by at least one participant. The actsfurther include analyzing the audio from each port to determine whetherthe audio from the ports matches at least one criterion. When the audiofrom one of the ports matches the at least one criterion, then the actsfurther include applying a correction to the audio prior to distributionof the audio within the multi-participant audio system.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a conference bridge that provides audioprocessing according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a dispatch trunk that provides audioprocessing according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows one example of logical operations that may be performed bya multi-participant system to provide audio processing according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows one example of logical operations that may be performed bya multi-participant system to provide a suitable correction to audiofrom a communication port according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments provide for audio processing for multi-participant systemssuch as teleconference and videoconference bridges and trunk dispatchsystems to control the amount of unwanted audio being introduced intothe multi-participant discussion. Unwanted audio is detected based onpre-defined characteristics and then a correction is applied to decreasethe significance of the unwanted audio.

FIG. 1 shows a conference bridge environment such as may be used forteleconferencing and/or video conferencing. As shown in FIG. 1, aconference bridge 102 is located within a telecommunications network100, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a privatetelecommunications network, a voice over Internet Protocol network, orcombinations thereof. The conference bridge 102 provides a conferenceservice whereby multiple participants may dial in or otherwise connectto the conference bridge 102 through a series of communication ports.For example, participants use telephones 122, 124, 126, 128, and 130 toconnect to respective communications ports 112, 114, 116, 118, and 120.

Each participant connects through a PSTN or other telecommunicationsconnection 132. This connection 132 may be a wired or wirelessconnection to the telecommunications network 100. As the participantdials into the conference bridge 102, the telecommunications network 100switches the connection 132 to the conference bridge 102 which thenassigns each incoming call to an available port, such as the ports 112,114, 116, 118, 120.

The connections 132 to each of the participants are bridged together viaconference bridge switching circuitry 110 that bridges thecommunications ports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120 that correspond to a givenconference. The conference bridge 102 may also employ a processor 104,memory 106, and storage 108 to further implement the conference and toprovide audio processing according to various embodiments. For instance,the processor 104 may provide a voice menu to incoming callers to allowthem to enter a conference code, passcode, and the like and to directthe conference bridge switching circuitry 110 to connect the port 112 ofthe incoming caller to the appropriate set of other ports 114, 116, 118,120 for the conference code that has been received.

Upon bridging the ports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120 together to provide theconference service, the processor 104 may also provide additionalfunctions during the conference. For instance, the processor 104 mayprovide information and controls to an administrator of the conferencethrough a data connection to a personal computer in use by theadministrator. The administrator may utilize the controls to mute ordisconnect participants if desired. The processor 104 may additionallyprovide such controls to individual participants such as to activateaudio processing for audio being introduced at their own location or atthe location of another participant. The processor 104 may also employaudio processing to alleviate audio issues without requiringintervention by the administrator or participants. The processor 104 maysample the audio, analyze the sample, and then apply audio correctionssuch as muting, noise cancellation, and/or time-shifting of audio beingreceived from a given communication port, such as one of the ports 112,114, 116, 118, 120.

The processor 104 may be of various types. For example, the processor104 may be a general purpose programmable processor, a dedicated purposeprocessor, hard-wired digital logic, or various combinations thereof.The memory device 106 may store programming and other data used by theprocessor 104 when implementing logical operations such as thosediscussed below in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4. The storage device 108 mayalso store programming and other data as well as storing recordings fromaudio ports such as audio recordings used to implement time-shiftingwhich is discussed in more detail below. The memory 106 and/or storagedevice 108 may also store reference audio patterns that may be used tocompare to audio samples when determining whether corrections arenecessary, where the audio patterns provide one or more criteria toconsider.

The processor 104, memory device 106, and/or storage device 108 areexamples of computer readable media which store instructions that whenperformed implement various logical operations. Such computer readablemedia may include various storage media including electronic, magnetic,and optical storage. Computer readable media may also includecommunications media, such as wired and wireless connections used totransfer the instructions or send and receive other data messages.

FIG. 2 shows another example of a multi-participant audio system. Thisparticular example is a trunk dispatch system 202 that communicates byexchanging wireless signals 234 with a plurality of two-way dispatchradios 222, 224, 226, 228, 230 via an antenna 232. The trunk dispatchsystem 202 provides wireless porting by directing communications from agiven dispatch radio, such as one of the radios 222, 224, 226, 228 230,to a given wireless port 212, 214, 216, 218, 220. The wireless ports212, 214, 216, 218, 220 are then bridged together via trunk dispatchswitching circuitry 210. The dispatch radios 222, 224, 226, 228, 230 mayemploy a push-to-talk mechanism whereby the audio of the trunk iscontinuously output by the dispatch radios 222, 224, 226, 228, 230 whilethe dispatch radios 222, 224, 226, 228, 230 attempt to interject audioonto the trunk upon the user pressing a talk button.

A processor 204 may be present to control the interconnection of thewireless porting 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 to provide bridging of theports 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 and/or to provide additional audioprocessing. For example, the processor 204 may bridge those wirelessports 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 that correspond to a particular channel,particular organization, and so forth. Furthermore, the processor 204may implement a priority system whereby a single dispatch radio, such asone of the radios 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, may have priority over othersat any given point so that the trunked dispatch radios 222, 224, 226,228, 230 receive the audio provided from the dispatch radio 222, 224,226, 228, 230 having priority at that moment. For example, afirst-to-talk priority system may be implemented, or priority may beassigned to the dispatch radios 222, 224, 226, 228, 230.

The radios 222, 224, 226, 228, 230 may operate on a shared frequency, ora plurality of shared frequencies. The channels may be assigned forvarious uses, such as one channel for tactical situation communicationsand another channel for medical control communications. The system mayutilize analog communications, digital communications, or a combinationof both between the dispatch radios 222, 224, 226, 228, and 230 and theports 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220. Furthermore, the radios 222, 224,226, 228, 230 may each be tagged with an identifier that is broadcastback to the corresponding port 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220 so that theprocessor 204 may recognize which radio is associated to which port forpurposes of panic alerting, audio processing, and the like.

The processor 204 may provide additional audio processing. Similar tothe processor 104 of FIG. 1, the processor 204 may also sample the audiofrom a given wireless port, such as one of the ports 212, 214, 216, 218220, analyze the sample, and then apply an appropriate correction to theaudio. The processor 204 may also provide muting, noise cancellation,and/or time-shifting to audio from a given wireless port, such as one ofthe ports 212, 214, 216, 218, 220.

The processor 204 may also be of various types like that of theprocessor 104. A memory device 206 may store programming and other dataused by the processor 204 when implementing logical operations such asthose discussed below in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4. A storage device 208may also store programming and other data as well as storing recordingsfrom audio ports such as recording used to implement time-shifting whichis discussed in more detail below. The memory device 206 and/or storagedevice 208 may store audio reference patterns used to determine whetherto apply a correction. The processor 204, memory device 206, and/orstorage device 208 are also examples of computer readable media whichstore instructions that when performed implement various logicaloperations.

FIG. 3 shows an example of logical operations that may be performed bythe processor 104, 204 to provide audio processing that correctsdetected audio issues without further intervention by an administratoror participant. Initially, the processor 104, 204 receives the incomingaudio signals from each communication port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212,214, 216, 218, 220 at a signal operation 302. The processor 104, 204then analyzes a sample of the received audio signals from each of thecommunication ports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 atan analysis operation 304. The processor 104, 204 may measure the samplefor various characteristics and then compare those measuredcharacteristics against pre-defined criteria where the pre-definedcriteria may be expressed as deviations from a reference audio pattern.The criteria may be allowable ranges, single thresholds, and the like.

At query operation 306, the processor 104, 204 detects whether any ofthe measured characteristics of the audio signal matches one or more ofthe pre-defined criteria. If not, then according to various embodimentsthe audio signal that has been analyzed is further handled in aconventional manner. For example, in the conference bridge 102, theaudio may be passed on to the other communication ports 112, 114, 116,118, 120 of the conference bridge 102 at an audio operation 308. Asanother example such as for the trunk dispatch system 202, the audio mayfirst be prioritized relative to other audio signals that have beenreceived and then passed onto the other communication ports 212, 214,216, 218, 220 in accordance with the priority at an audio operation 310.The highest priority audio may be passed on while the lowest may bediscarded.

If the processor 104, 204 detects that the measured characteristics ofthe audio signal match one or more of the criteria, then the processor104, 204 applies a suitable correction to the audio signal beingreceived at a correction operation 312. For example, the processor 104,204 may mute audio from the port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216,218, 220 for a period of time or continuously until the audio from theport no longer matches the criteria of interest. Muting the port 112,114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 may address the audio issuesnot otherwise addressed by a noise cancellation technique or timeshifting. For example, if noise remains present after an attempt atfiltering, then muting may be applied as the suitable correction. Asanother example, if audio issues other than noise are present such asbackground conversations, then the processor 104, 204 may select mutingas the most appropriate correction.

As another example, the processor 104, 204 may apply a noisecancellation to the audio from the port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212,214, 216, 218, 220. Various factors may contribute to noise beingintroduced by a given port, such as one of the ports 112, 114, 116, 118,120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220. For example, a poor connection mayintroduce noise. Environmental conditions where the participant islocated may introduce noise. The noise cancellation may applyattenuation filters, out-of-phase signal combinations, and the like.

As yet another example, the processor 104, 204 may apply a time delay byrecording the audio to a storage device, such as the storage device 108,208, and then playing the audio back from storage to produce a timeshift. For example, it may be detected from the concurrent analysis ofaudio samples from the multiple ports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214,216, 218, 220 that participants at the multiple ports are talkingsimultaneously. In that case, the processor 104, 204 may mute one of theports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 producing thesimultaneous input, record the audio from that port while allowing theaudio from the competing port to pass through, and then play back therecorded audio immediately upon detecting a break in the audio from thecompeting port. In that manner, the likelihood that other participantscan better comprehend both speakers may be increased.

FIG. 4 shows one example of a set of logical operations that may beperformed according to various embodiments to apply the suitablecorrection as in the correction operation 312 of FIG. 3. For instance,the processor 104, 204 may be capable of applying several differentforms of correction, where one form may be more suitable than anotherthat is available to the processor 104, 204. The processor 104, 204first determines the characteristics of the audio sample from a givencommunications port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 andcompares them to characteristics of the reference audio pattern at acomparison operation 402.

Here the processor 104, 204 may look at characteristics such as thesignal-to-noise (S/N) ratio where the signal is known to be a humanvoice within a defined frequency range and other audio energy isconsidered to be noise. A S/N ratio less than an allowable deviationfrom the reference pattern may indicate that there is more backgroundnoise than is acceptable such that a noise cancellation for thebackground noise might be the most suitable correction.

The processor 104, 204 may additionally or alternatively determinefrequencies that are present, the magnitudes of the given frequenciesthat are present, and the durations of the audio energy at a givenfrequency and/or magnitude. Here, the processor 104, 204 may determinethat the frequencies are within the acceptable range relative to anallowable deviation from the reference pattern such that there is ahuman voice that is present. However, the processor 104, 204 may furtherdetermine that the human voice has a magnitude that is too high to beacceptable, such as because a participant has a microphone sensitivitytoo high or is speaking in an unacceptably loud tone. This condition mayindicate that a voice attenuation algorithm is a necessary correction orthat muting of the port is necessary.

The processor 104, 204 may instead determine that the frequencies thatare present indicate multiple speakers at a given port. If themagnitudes of one or more of the multiple speakers are less than anacceptable level while the duration persists longer than an allowabledeviation from the reference pattern, then this may indicate that anongoing background conversation is being introduced by the communicationport 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 underconsideration. In that case, muting of the communication port 112, 114,116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 for a period of time or until thebackground conversation stops may be desirable.

Upon comparing these measured characteristics to the reference audiopattern, the processor 104, 204 then detects whether the comparisonindicates that the audio sample matches the criteria of a first group.For example, as discussed above, the audio sample may have frequencies,magnitudes, and durations that match a first group of criteriaindicative of a background conversation. At a query operation 404, theprocessor 104, 204 detects that the measured characteristics match thecriteria of the first group and the processor 104, 204 then mutes thecorresponding communication port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216,218, 220 at a mute operation 406. Operational flow then proceeds tomeasure a subsequent audio sample.

If the audio sample does not match the first group, then the processor104, 204 detects whether the measured characteristics of the audiosample match those criteria of a second group at a query operation 408.For example, the audio sample may have a high S/N ratio with the voicesignal lying within a first frequency range while the noise having anemphasis in a second frequency range which is a match for a second groupof criteria. In this case, the processor 104, 204 applies a first noisecancellation technique at a cancellation operation 410, such as a noisefilter that has a low attenuation at the first frequency rangecorresponding to the voice and a higher attenuation at the secondfrequency range corresponding to the noise. Operational flow thenproceeds to measure a subsequent audio sample.

If the audio sample does not match the second group, then the processor104, 204 detects whether the measured characteristics of the audiosample match those criteria of a third group at a query operation 412.For example, the audio sample may have a high S/N ratio with a firstvoice signal lying within a first frequency range and a second voicesignal lying within a second frequency range while the noise has anemphasis in a third frequency range which is a match for a third groupof criteria. In this case, the processor 104, 204 applies a second noisecancellation technique at a cancellation operation 414, such as a noisefilter that has a low attenuation at the first and second frequencyranges corresponding to the voice and a higher attenuation at the thirdfrequency range corresponding to the noise. Operational flow thenproceeds to measure a subsequent audio sample.

This process of matching measured characteristics of the audio sample tocriteria of a particular group may continue to the Nth group and Nthnoise cancellation technique to cover as many permutations of themeasured characteristics as is desirable. A corresponding correction maythen be applied as discussed above.

In determining whether the audio samples match a given reference patternand hence the criteria of a particular group, additional factors may beconsidered. For example, the particular language being spoken during theconference may be a factor that dictates what reference patterns areused for comparison to detect whether unwanted audio is present and todictate what types of correction may be employed. The language may beset by the administrator, on a conference level or at the individualparticipant level where participants may speak different languages.

Rather than relying on a manual setting, location detection may beperformed where a default language for a given location is appliedduring the audio processing. In this case, the individualphones/dispatch radios and the conference bridge/dispatch trunk mayemploy location detection through geonavigational positioning,tower-based triangulation, and/or user designation. The phones/dispatchradios may report location through a control signal back to theconference bridge/dispatch trunk where the location of each participantassociated with a corresponding port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214,216, 218, 220 may be considered. As another example, calling numberinformation from the participant may be used to determine location, suchas from the area code and exchange code of the calling number.

In addition to utilizing the location data to better determine whatreference patterns and corrections to be employed to detect and removeunwanted audio, a database of expected noises associated with locationsmay be maintained at the conference bridge/dispatch trunk. In thismanner, the reference patterns and corrections to be employed may bebased on expected noise from the database such that when a location fora given participant is determined, the reference patterns andcorrections that most closely match the noise that is anticipated forthat location may be applied to that port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212,214, 216, 218, or 220 to more effectively detect and remove unwantedaudio. As the location of the participant may change during aconference, this location determination and selection oflocation-appropriate reference patterns and corrections may becontinually updated.

As the logical operations of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be performed concurrentlyfor each communication port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218,220 involved in the multi-participant communication, a differentcorrection may be applied to one communication port 112, 114, 116, 118,120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 relative to another. For example, the firstport 112 may have a first noise cancellation applied while the secondport 114 is muted and while the third port 116 has a second noisecancellation applied. Furthermore, the available corrections may bedifferent from one communication port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214,216, 218, 220 to the next and may be dependent upon which participantsare using which ports.

For example, it may be known that a first particular participant willlikely need to be muted while it may be known that a second participantwill likely require noise cancellation. Thus, the processor 104, 204 maylimit consideration to muting and time shifting as the correctionsavailable for the first participant while limiting consideration toavailable noise cancellation techniques for the second participant. Theassociation of a given participant to a given communication port, suchas one of the ports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220, inorder to apply the appropriate set of corrections to that communicationport 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 may be establishedthrough one of various ways. For example, the passcode that is enteredthrough a particular communication port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212,214, 216, 218, 220 may be recognized as being from a particularparticipant or called identification data that is received through aparticular communication port 112, 114, 116, 118, 120; 212, 214, 216,218, 220 may be recognized as being from a particular participant.

Thus, as discussed above, unwanted audio being interjected into themulti-participant conversation may be addressed. Characteristics of theaudio from a communication port may be measured, a determinationregarding whether a correction should be applied may be made, a suitablecorrection may be chosen, and then that correction may be applied to theaudio prior to passing the audio to the multiple participants.

While embodiments have been particularly shown and described, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in theform and details may be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

1. A conference bridge, comprising: a plurality of conference bridgeports through which audio is delivered to and received from conferenceparticipants, the audio from each conference bridge port being sharedwith the other conference bridge ports of the plurality; a processorthat is in communication with the plurality of conference bridge ports,that analyzes audio received from each of the plurality of conferencebridge ports to determine which conference bridge ports are providingaudio that includes characteristics meeting at least one criterion, andthat applies a correction to the audio from each of the conferencebridge ports that includes the characteristics matching the at least onecriterion prior to the audio being shared with the other conferencebridge ports of the plurality.
 2. The conference bridge of claim 1,wherein the processor applies the correction by muting the audio fromthe conference bridge port.
 3. The conference bridge of claim 1, whereinthe processor applies the correction by applying a noise cancellation tothe audio from the conference bridge port.
 4. The conference bridge ofclaim 1, wherein the correction being applied by the processor variesbased on the conference bridge port producing the audio being corrected.5. The conference bridge of claim 4, wherein the processor applies thecorrection by muting audio from a first conference bridge port while theprocessor applies the correction by providing noise cancellation toaudio from a second conference bridge port.
 6. The conference bridge ofclaim 4, wherein the processor determines which conference bridge portsare providing audio that includes characteristics meeting at least onecriterion by comparing a sample of audio from the conference bridge portto a pattern of audio.
 7. The conference bridge of claim 6, wherein theprocessor applies the correction by muting the audio when the samplematches a first group of criteria and applies a noise cancellation whenthe sample matches a second group of criteria.
 8. The conference bridgeof claim 6, wherein the processor applies the correction by applying afirst noise cancellation technique to the audio when the sample matchesa first group of criteria and applies a second noise cancellationtechnique when the sample matches a second group of criteria.
 9. Theconference bridge of claim 1, wherein the processor applies thecorrection by muting and recording a period of audio from a firstconference bridge port when the audio from the first conference bridgeport overlaps with audio from a second conference bridge port, andreplays the recording of the audio to the plurality of conference bridgeports upon detecting an end to a period of audio from the secondconference bridge port.
 10. A trunk dispatch system, comprising: aplurality of trunk dispatch wireless ports through which audio isdelivered to and received from trunk dispatch participants, the audiofrom each trunk dispatch wireless port being prioritized and sharedaccording to priority with the other trunk dispatch wireless ports ofthe plurality; a trunk dispatch processor that is in communication withthe plurality of trunk dispatch wireless ports, that analyzes audioreceived from each of the plurality of trunk dispatch wireless ports todetermine which trunk dispatch wireless ports are providing audio thatincludes characteristics meeting at least one criterion, and thatapplies a correction to the audio from each of the trunk dispatchwireless ports that includes the characteristics matching the at leastone criterion prior to the audio being shared with the other trunkdispatch wireless ports of the plurality.
 11. The trunk dispatch systemof claim 10, wherein the processor applies the correction by muting theaudio from the wireless port.
 12. The trunk dispatch system of claim 10,wherein the processor applies the correction by applying a noisecancellation to the audio from the wireless port.
 13. The trunk dispatchsystem of claim 10, wherein the correction being applied by theprocessor varies based on the wireless port producing the audio beingcorrected.
 14. The trunk dispatch system of claim 13, wherein theprocessor applies the correction by muting audio from a first wirelessport while the processor applies the correction by providing noisecancellation to audio from a second wireless port.
 15. The trunkdispatch system of claim 13, wherein the processor determines whichwireless ports are providing audio that includes characteristics meetingat least one criterion by comparing a sample of audio from the wirelessport to a pattern of audio.
 16. The trunk dispatch system of claim 15,wherein the processor applies a correction by muting the audio when thesample matches a first group of criteria and applies a noisecancellation when the sample matches a second group of criteria.
 17. Thetrunk dispatch system of claim 15, wherein the processor applies acorrection by applying a first noise cancellation technique to the audiowhen the sample matches a first group of criteria and applies a secondnoise cancellation technique when the sample matches a second group ofcriteria.
 18. The trunk dispatch system of claim 10, wherein theprocessor applies the correction by muting and recording a period ofaudio from a first wireless port when the audio from the first wirelessport overlaps with audio from a second wireless port, and replays therecording of the audio to the plurality of wireless ports upon detectingan end to a period of audio from the second wireless port.
 19. Acomputer readable medium containing instructions that perform actscomprising: continually monitoring a plurality of ports of amulti-participant audio system, wherein each port of the plurality isutilized by at least one participant; analyzing the audio from each portto determine whether the audio from the ports matches at least onecriterion; and when the audio from one of the ports matches the at leastone criterion, then applying a correction to the audio prior todistribution of the audio within the multi-participant audio system. 20.The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the correctionincludes at least one of muting the audio, applying noise cancellationto the audio, and recording the audio with subsequent replay of therecorded audio to the multiple participants.